The European Medicine Agency on Thursday backed giving a booster shot of Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine to adolescents aged 12 and above. The agency also expanded the use of the Moderna vaccine in children aged six to 11. The decision comes after several EU countries already started to offer booster doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to teens.
The vaccine committee of Germany recommended all children between the ages of 12 and 17 receive a booster dose last month. A report from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said 10 countries in the European Economic Area had already recommended a booster dose for those under 18 years of age.
The European Union’s health regulator also recommended approval of Moderna’s COVID vaccine for use in children aged six to 11.
Moderna’s Spikevax COVID-19 shot is already approved for use in adults and children aged 12 and over in Europe.
In the United States, the Moderna vaccine is authorised as a primary two-dose regimen and booster dose for adults 18 years and older.
The World Health Organisation supports achieving herd immunity against coronavirus through vaccination. According to the experts, to achieve herd immunity against COVID-19 more than 90 per cent of the population has to be vaccinated.
Sonam Tenzin
